1. Technical Field
The present invention relates, in general, to printed circuit board mounting structures and, more particularly, to a structure for mounting a printed circuit board in a thin electronic apparatus housing, such as the housings of notebook computers.
2. Related Art
A variety of models of portable computers, such as notebook computers, wallet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), hand-held personal computers (HPCs) and mobile computers, are marketed for commercial use and are widely used in recent years. In order to improve portability, the portable computers tend to be minimized and slimmed increasingly.
Computer systems are information handling systems that are utilized by many individuals and businesses today. A computer system can be defined as a microcomputer that includes a central processing unit (CPU), a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory such as read only memory (ROM), a display monitor, a keyboard, a mouse or other input device such as a track ball, a floppy diskette drive, a compact disc-read only memory (CD-ROM) drive, a modem, a hard disk storage device, and a printer. A computer system""s main board, which is a printed circuit board known as a motherboard, is used to electrically connect these components together. A computer system can be a desktop computer, apersonal computer, aportable computer such as anotebook computer or palm-sized computer, or other type of computer.
Generally, various kinds of printed circuit boards (PCBs), such as a main board or motherboard, are mounted to the housing of such a portable computer.
I have found that many methods used to mount a printed circuit board to a housing of a portable computer utilize the limited space available in an inefficient manner. Efforts have been made to mount a printed circuit board to a housing, but I believe that the efforts to date have not satisfactorily remedied the problem of inefficient space utilization.
Exemplars of recent efforts in the art include U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,256 for Portable Computer Having A Circuit Board Including A Heat-Generating IC Chip And A Metal Frame Supporting The Circuit Board issued to Nakamura et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,468 for Modulator Computer Chassis issued to Wong et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,350 for Portable Electronics Apparatus Housing And Chassis issued to Chan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,520 for Apparatus For Printed Circuit Board Connection issued to Kemp et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,601 for Personal Computer Having An Expansion Board Connector Restrained By A Wall And Supporting A Circuit Board issued to Honda et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,038 for Adapter Apparatus For Use In Connecting A Printed Circuit Board To A Computer Chassis issued to Scholder et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,640 for Computer Chassis Having A Size-Adjustable, TEM-Shielded Circuit Board Support Plate Structure Therein issued to Mills et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,231 for Support For Electronic Cards And Boards Of Varying Lengths issued to Winick et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,019 for Apparatus For Mounting A Printed Circuit Board In A Monitor Case issued to Lee, U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,329 for Apparatus, And Method For Facilitating Circuit Board Processing issued to Wark et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,973,926 for Method And Apparatus For Attaching Circuit Board To Chassis And Forming Solid Ground Connection Using A Single Screw issued to Sacherman et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,504 for Multilayer Computer Chassis Having Integral Circuit Board Mounting And Grounding Structure issued to Sands et al.
While these recent efforts provide advantages, I note that they fail to adequately provide an efficient and convenient structure for mounting a printed circuit board in an electronic apparatus housing.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a structure for mounting a printed circuit board (PCB) in an electronic apparatus housing which utilizes space efficiently.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a structure for mounting, a printed circuit board in an electronic apparatus housing, such that the structure is capable of preventing the heads of mounting screws from being projected over the upper surface of the printed circuit board, thus improving a degree of space utilization and allowing an electronic apparatus to be manufactured in a slim fashion.
In order to accomplish the above objects and other objects, the present invention provides a structure for mounting a printed circuit board in an electronic apparatus housing, comprising a plurality of holes formed in the printed circuit board, a plurality of bosses formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the electronic apparatus housing at positions corresponding to the positions of the holes, and a plurality of seat members, each of the seat members consisting of a seat portion for supporting the bottom surface of the head of a screw while being positioned on the top surface of each of the bosses, the seat portion having a center hole through which the screw passes, a vertical cylinder portion being extended from the circumferential end portion of the seat portion, defining a hollow portion in which the head of the screw is positioned, and being inserted into each of the holes of the main board, and a flange supporting the main board while being positioned on the top surface of each of the bosses, being horizontally extended from the circumferential edge of the screw seat and being soldered to the lower surface of the main board.
In addition, the present invention provides a structure for mounting a printed circuit board in an electronic apparatus housing, comprising a plurality of holes formed in the printed circuit board, a plurality of bosses formed on the upper surface of the bottom of the electronic apparatus housing at positions corresponding to the positions of the holes, and a plurality of seat members, each of the seat members consisting of a seat portion for supporting the bottom surface of the head of a screw while being positioned on the top surface of each of the bosses, the seat portion having a center hole through which the screw passes, a vertical cylinder portion being extended from the circumferential end portion of the seat portion, defining a hollow portion in which the head of the screw is positioned, and being inserted into each of the holes of the main board, and a flange resting on the main board while being positioned on the top surface of each of the bosses and being horizontally extended from a top end of the vertical cylinder portion.
To achieve these and other objects in accordance with the principles of the present invention as embodied and broadly described, the present invention provides an apparatus mounting a board in a housing, comprising: a boss rigidly fixed on a surface of the housing and engaging a screw; a seat being positioned on said boss, said seat comprising: a bottom being positioned on said boss and defining an aperture penetrated by the screw; a cylinder extending from said bottom and being positioned in a hole formed in the board, said cylinder defining an orifice accommodating a head of the screw, said bottom being positioned between the head and said boss; and a flange extending outwardly from circumference of said cylinder and being adjacent to said bottom, said seat being secured to the board, said boss supporting the flange, said flange supporting the board, the screw penetrating the hole and the orifice and the aperture and said boss securing the board to the housing.
To achieve these and other objects in accordance with the principles of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the present invention provides an apparatus mounting a board in a housing, comprising: a boss on a surface of the housing and engaging a screw; a seat being positioned on said boss, said seat comprising: a bottom being positioned on said boss and defining an aperture penetrated by the screw; a cylinder extending from said bottom and being positioned in a hole formed in the board, said cylinder defining an orifice accommodating ahead of the screw, said bottom being positioned between the head and said boss; and a flange extending outwardly from circumference of said cylinder, the board supporting the flange, the screw penetrating the hole and the orifice and the aperture and said boss securing the board to the housing.
To achieve these and other objects in accordance with the principles of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the present invention provides an apparatus, comprising: a bottom being positioned on a housing, said bottom defining an aperture penetrated by a screw, the housing having a threaded portion engaging the screw; a cylinder extending from said bottom and being positioned in a hole formed in a board, said cylinder defining an orifice accommodating a head of the screw, said bottom being positioned between the head and said housing; and a flange extending outwardly from said cylinder and being adjacent to said bottom, said seat being secured to the board, said housing supporting the flange, said flange supporting the board, the screw penetrating the hole and the orifice and the aperture securing the board to the housing.
The present invention is more specifically described in the following paragraphs by reference to the drawings attached only by way of example. Other advantages and features will become apparent from the following description and from the claims.